wrote:
On Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:19:11 -0500, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Searcher7 wrote:
On Jan 23, 7:45 am, "dadiOH" wrote:
Searcher7wrote:
On Dec 22 2012, 10:18 am, "Pat" wrote:
It depends on the filler I guess but most anything that adheres
decently could be used. Even drywall mud. Yes, drywall mud. I
can think of nothing that sands any easier.

I have used mud on a couple of projects and it worked well.

Ok, I tried the mud first. But I don't think it works well. After
sanding following the first coat it seemed I was back where I
started. Am I sanding too much off?

First coat of what? Filler? Paint?

If filler, you don't make multiple coats...you smear on a coat of
sufficient thickness with a spatula or broad knife, let it dry and
sand off excess using nothing coarser than #150 sand paper, finer
is better.

If paint; what kind? Oil? Water?

If oil, then you are sanding off too much and/or using too coarse a
grit.

If water, then you are a masochist...water base acrylic paint
doesn't sand, it tears and balls up into a mess. OK, you *can* wet
sand it with better results but doing so is still masochistic. Even
if you *could* sand water base acrylic, doing so would tend to
remove filler if you removed much paint as the filler is water
soluble and will have melded with the paint.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

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Ok, let me back track.

I primed a particle board surface after I removed the adhesive vinyl
and sanded the surface. This is what I got:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...ts/Primed2.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...ts/Primed1.jpg

The inconsistency is obviously due to me alternating between using
the heat gun and pulling the vinyl off.

Even sanding afterwards didn't help even the surface:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...dingPrimer.jpg

So I tried drywall mud as per advice here, but I still didn't get
the consistent surface and now I might just try priming again before
tryign some latex paint in opes it fills in enough to make the
surface smooth.

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell of paint filling that
surface. And I have no idea what you mean when you say you "removed
the adhesive vinyl". Personally, I have never seen vinyl glued to
particle board; not saying it doesn't exist, just that I have never
seen such. Are you talking about a user applied material like
contact "paper"?

To get a smooth painted surface, two things are necessary...
1. The surface being painted has to be smooth
2. The paint has to be appied evenly and it must "self level".
As paint dries it shrinks to conform to the surface under it; if
that surface was smooth, the paint surface will be too; if that
surface was rough, the paint surface will be too.

There are two ways to get a smooth, paintable surface...
1. sand down all high spots to the level of the lowest low spot
2. fill all the low spots to at least the height of the highest
high spot

Particle board by its nature won't sand to a really smooth surface.
It *WILL* sand to a much smoother one than that evidenced in your
photos.

All fillers consist of a finally ground material - usually mineral -
mixed with a binder. What those materials are and their relative
proportions determine how well it fills and how well it sands. Most
primers are also modest fillers because of their relatively high
(for paint) mineral content. International paint used to make a
really great one...thick bodied, dried in an hour, sanded to dust.
Last time I looked 10 or more years ago it was $120+ a gallon.

Drywall mud is calcium carbonate bound with starch. It is cheap,
readily available and - when dry - sands very well. It would be
very easy to turn your moonscape particle board surface into a
smooth one with drywall mud...
1. Trowel on a layer covering the entire board
2. Let dry completely
3. Sand with #150 or finer paper. Ideally, you want a thin very
layer left on the highest spots after sanding.
4. Seal the surface
5. Top coat

You could use Bondo rather than drywall mud; however, it is much more
expensive, more difficult to use and apply and harder to sand.

You could use plaster of Paris. It is the same as setting drywall
mud and is also harder to sand (than is drying drywall mud).

You could make your own filler using talc, pumice, whiting or
similar as the filler and clear acrylic, lacquer or varnish as the
binder. Talc and lacquer work well, takes a while to dry.

Use the product that is MADE for the job. It is called fast-build
primer surfacer or "sanding primer".


Judging from his photos, I don't think those would even *begin* to smooth
his particle board. Not without many, many coats at least.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net